Sailboats earn top 2012 honors

Sailing World magazine announced the winners of its 25th annual Boat of the Year awards, and topping this year’s field as Boat of the Year is the VX One from Bennett Yachting Technologies.

The VX One and three other new boats won awards from an independent panel of experts who evaluated 12 nominees after October’s U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Md. Selections were based on extensive inspections and sea trials of the boats. Sailing World’s January/February 2012 issue will feature all four winners.

“Over the past decade the sportboat market has really been driven by the bigger keelboats, so it’s great to finally see something that combines the excitement of sportboat and dinghy sailing in a reasonably priced 19-footer,” Sailing World editor and Boat of the Year director Dave Reed said in a statement. “I sailed the VX One a month before its BOTY test, and I knew then the judges would be impressed. This boat has great potential to spark one-design sailing in the United States.”